Tag: limited funds

Yesterday Yieber and I had a meeting with a local representative from an NGO in the United States. They don’t have an office here in Peru but when donations are made and specified to be spent here in Peru they process that request and distribute the funding.

Since we have starting filming our documentary we have heard many pleas for help. The small school we visited in Patabamba needs books, computers, teaching aids and money for nutritional food.

Many schools have programs to feed the children. How do we keep the pot full for all the children?

In the same small village high in the Andes, the women’s weaving council needs help to sell their textiles. They asked for assistance to set up a website and marketing tools, need help with training and technolgy to be competative in todays marketplace, not to mention supplies for the actual products.

When we visited a school in Lamay we saw firsthand how small contributions, well-managed, can effect huge change. The children in that community were healthy, happy and well on their way to receiving a good education. A few of the children even practiced their english and french with me.

It’s been difficult going into areas that are so poverty-stricken and not being able to help. Sometimes just a small amount of money can turn around an entire community. Upgrading the irrigation system for the farmers, providing books for the schools, seeds for nutritional crops, chimneys in kitchens to reduce asthma, respiratory illness and even cancer… all simple and cost-effective solutions that dramatically improve the quality of living for families living in remote regions.

I know that a lot of people are reluctant to give to causes without the benefit of receiving a tax receipt or having the assurance that the money will actually be going to the right place. For this reason we are investigating setting up a registered society (NGO)

We’d love your feedback on this idea since it is a challenging process, time-consuming and expensive. If we build it, will you participate?

If you want to sponsor our film, and you’re not worried about a tax receipt, there are many ways you can do this now. Donate your airmiles, (travel is an expense that is robbing our budget) provide financial help either through GoFundMe or direct email transaction, share our blog or aid us in the real production. (create graphics, write music, do research, voice-over, editing, PR, write press releases…etc)

We’re heading to the highlands again tomorrow to meet with a community leader and arrange for a donation of shoes for all the children. I’ll be posting some video of that adventure in a few days.

Yesterday was a great day because we had many unexpected surpirses. Today we are reviewing the footage of the past 4 days… a complicated task because everything is in a language that I don’t understand. We have over 1,000 photos so far and I do understand them. Like they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words. So today instead of a big story, I will share some images from Patabamba.

In the morning, the women move the livestock to the pasture land. They use the wool from the Laamas and sheep for making textiles.

We tried to speak with the president of the village but he refused to give us his time. At first we were dissapointed but instead we headed to the school to see about interviewing someone there. The principal, Juana Sulema Carrasco Cruz, was more than happy to share her time with us and gave us fantastic insight into the local community and the problems there.

This was the grade 3 classroom. Major problems at the school are, limited supplies, no library, one computer for the entire school, very few books. Problems for the children are, absent parents (they must work out of town and are often gone overnight) poor nutrition, no money for uniforms, unequal financial status (some families are self sufficient while others live in extreme poverty).

Some of the young girls end up having babies are welcome to bring them to school. They bring them into the classes with them.

We noticed a huge gap in abilities when Yieber was teaching the older boys how to play a new card game. Simple skills like following directions, remembering rules, number sequences and manipulating the cards in hand were very difficult for some of these boys. It was nice to see them support and cooperate with each other. No one shamed another for poor play… they were cheerful and having fun!

The Kindergarten was in a separate location. Getting an early start is crucial to their success but not always available to every child.

The women of Patabamba are fully aware of the problems in their community and have banded together to form a council that meets each week. They share a meal, teach each other spinning and weaving techniques and plan stategies to help bring their families back to the traditional ways.

These women have little or no education and zero access to technology (computers or internet) but, they know that to succeed they must assimilate into todays society. They asked us to help put them in contact with tour companies and people who can buy their products. They are determined to create a better life for their families and we’re going to do what we can to make that vision a reality.

Yieber and I spent most of the day yesterday trying to sort out the many details of our film before our first day of shooting on November 2nd. It was a long but productive day and in the end we managed to squeeze, 11 main locations into the next 2 months of filming. We´re going to have many challenges…

Lack of power to charge batteries for camera and sound equipment

We have to carry everything on our backs

Remote locations that can only be reached by 4×4, boat, walking or flight

Language barriers, (well… Yieber speaks all three languages, English, Spanish & Quechan, but I will have absolutely no idea what our interview subjects will be saying)

Unlimited topics to cover… there are so many people, places and subjects we want to include!

Limited time in each location

Limited hard disk space

Limited funds!

We´re up for the challenge though and we invite you to come along for the ride (or trek in many cases)

We´d love to hear your input and feedback on this project so please comment and share this blog with your friends and family. If you don´t hear from us for a few days it´s because we´re off the beaten path and have no access to internet.